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shekhar.kataria: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 268; Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:10 am; Thanked: 13 times

by shekhar.kataria » Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:09 am

Mark's clothing store uses a bar-code system to identify every item. Each item is marked by a combination of 2 letters followed by 3 digits.Additionally, the three-digit number must be even for male products and odd for female products. If all apparel products start with the letter combination AP, how many male apparel items can be identified with the bar code?

Given Solution [spoiler]1*10*10*5[/spoiler]

My Doubt The Red coloured highlighted value should be 9 because hundredth digit cant have zero. If so this will be a 2 digit code.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — Problem Solving | Wed Mar 28, 2012 6:09 am

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:04 am

shekhar.kataria wrote:Mark's clothing store uses a bar-code system to identify every item. Each item is marked by a combination of 2 letters followed by 3 digits.Additionally, the three-digit number must be even for male products and odd for female products. If all apparel products start with the letter combination AP, how many male apparel items can be identified with the bar code?

Given Solution [spoiler]1*10*10*5[/spoiler]

My Doubt The Red coloured highlighted value should be 9 because hundredth digit cant have zero. If so this will be a 2 digit code.

Typically, a 3-digit number implies that the hundreds digit is not zero.
However, in this instance, it sounds like a code like AP034 may be acceptable, in which case the given answer is correct.
If a code like AP034 is not acceptable, then your solution is correct.

That said, the GMAT test-makers are the best at framing questions so that they eliminate any ambiguous interpretations. So, as it stands, this would not be an official question (without the addition of some text that removes ambiguity.)

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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ronnie1985: Legendary Member; Posts: 626; Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2011 2:50 amFollowed by: 10 members; Location: Ahmedabad; Thanked: 31 times

by ronnie1985 » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:32 am

Since the problem does not restrict whether the 3 digits has to be a 3 digit number, it can be assumed that numbers starting from 0 are also acceptable.

however, the official solution of 10 is incorrect. This is because the last digit can be any one of 5 and the other 2 digits can be any of 10. so the number of apparels is 10*10*5 = 500.

If we consider that the number has to be a valid 3 digit number, then hundred's digit can be any of 9 and ten's digit can be any of 10 and unit's digit can be any of 5. So total apparels = 9*10*5 = 450

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Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:36 am

ronnie1985 wrote: however, the official solution of 10 is incorrect. This is because the last digit can be any one of 5 and the other 2 digits can be any of 10. so the number of apparels is 10*10*5 = 500.

Just to be clear, the official solution is not 10. The 10 was shown through the spoiler bar. If you check under the spoiler, you'll see that the official solution matches your solution.

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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shekhar.kataria: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 268; Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 12:10 am; Thanked: 13 times

by shekhar.kataria » Thu Mar 29, 2012 1:38 am

Thanks Brent

Brent@GMATPrepNow wrote:
shekhar.kataria wrote:Mark's clothing store uses a bar-code system to identify every item. Each item is marked by a combination of 2 letters followed by 3 digits.Additionally, the three-digit number must be even for male products and odd for female products. If all apparel products start with the letter combination AP, how many male apparel items can be identified with the bar code?

Given Solution [spoiler]1*10*10*5[/spoiler]

My Doubt The Red coloured highlighted value should be 9 because hundredth digit cant have zero. If so this will be a 2 digit code.
Typically, a 3-digit number implies that the hundreds digit is not zero.
However, in this instance, it sounds like a code like AP034 may be acceptable, in which case the given answer is correct.
If a code like AP034 is not acceptable, then your solution is correct.

That said, the GMAT test-makers are the best at framing questions so that they eliminate any ambiguous interpretations. So, as it stands, this would not be an official question (without the addition of some text that removes ambiguity.)

Cheers,
Brent

Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress.--Thomas A. Edison

If you find this post helpful, let me know by clicking thanks above

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